View full sizeFirefighters use pikes to push in the walls of an old house at 1610 Ruddiman Avenue in North Muskegon during a live burn training exercise carried out in North Muskegon by the North Muskegon and Muskegon Township fire departments Saturday October 27, 2007. Gary Anderegg, 78, grew up in the home said as he watched his old home go up in a blaze of glory, "it's kind of sad, but they couldn't move it, this way they get some training."

MUSKEGON COUNTY — Public safety leaders in Muskegon County are pitching a roughly $13 million training center which would provide them a location to simulate everything from house fires to bank robberies.

But at a time when municipalities have been hit by declines in revenue sharing and drops in property taxes, the question is: How will they find the funding?

“Funding of course is the big issue,” said Norton Shores Fire Chief David Purchase, who is among the public safety officials pushing for the facility. “Where do we find the grants, bonds or loans?”

Purchase, along with Norton Shores Police Chief Daniel Shaw, said there’s a need for such a facility. It could serve as a training spot for police and firefighters throughout West Michigan.

Among the proposed features of the facility are a rifle and pistol range, structures where fires could be simulated, a drivers training course, and even a mock town where trainers could stage bank robberies and hostage situations.

“It’s the low-frequency, high-risk situations we’re talking about,” Shaw said. “They don’t happen often, but when they happen, if it goes bad, it goes really bad and that’s the kind of stuff our people are not accustomed to.”

The nearest training center with similar facilities is at Oakland Community College, which is northwest of Detroit, Purchase said.

The facility would be on a 30-acre parcel on Stebbins Road, near Quarterline Road, in Muskegon Township. The land was sold to Muskegon Township by L-3 Communications in 2007 for $1, with the understanding the proposed training facility would one day be built there. Muskegon Community College, which provides firefighting training, is considering partnering with public safety leaders on the project.

As of now, area public safety officials have limited options when it comes to training, Purchase said.

Often, new recruits have had little to no experience battling a live fire until they’re on the job, Purchase said. Employees already on the job have few opportunities to refine their skills or prepare for rescue situations that require greater technical skill, such as a plane crash.

Firefighters “don’t get any real live fire experience until they get into a real fire,” Purchase said. “So the first time they’re really facing that type of situation is at two o’clock in the morning at Mrs. Smith’s house, which is not a good position to be in, not to be able to more thoroughly train them.”

Dorothy Lester, chairwoman of the MCC Board of Trustees, said the facility would provide an opportunity to expand the college’s firefighter training program. Faculty could, potentially, provide training for students and public safety officers.

Board members made a motion at a recent meeting to keep talking with public safety officials to see what role the college could play in creation of the facility, Lester said.

“By having one facility, the municipalities would save money,” she said.

Going forward, Purchase said the focus is on determining what municipalities are interested in working together to create the center and finding a funding source.

“It’s really hard to find grants for construction,” he said. “You can find grants for training and find grants for equipment but it’s hard to find grants for brick-and-mortar projects.”